bad reflux with 80mg omeprazole

Please note that a lot of people find that when they try to come off proton pump inhibitors 1 or 2 they get a bad stomach  - the doctor then says it means you need to continue with it. This is rubbish. What is happenign is that your stomach is not used to having a normal amount of acid and is adjusting.

I am trying to come off Nexium and I am having horrific burning in the digestive tract area and the throat as well. I liked your stmt about the stomach adjusting to a normal amount of acid.  Can you please tell me where I might be able to find that diagnosis? If this is true, then I may be able to handle it...at least for a little while. It is the worst pain, as if I were pouring fire down my throat.  If I could see an end to it, I am sure (or

hope) it would be worth it.  Thanking you in advance for any assistance  you might be able to provide me.

 

I tapered off taking 20 mg omeprazole over a several week period.  I haven't taken it at all for several weeks now.  I am still having acid reflux and have to chew Gaviscon and/or Tums several times a day.  Do you know how long it should take for my stomach to get back to normal?

I was born with severe acid reflux and have been on and off of medicine my entire life for it. Nexium has to be one of the worst medicines I ever took for it. The side affects were worse than the benefits. It gave me stomach cramps and pain and reduces the ability for your body to absorb calcium. I was on it for a year and a half and then weened myself off of it. it sucks at first. There were days I wanted to rip my throat and stomach out but I quickly found gaviscon and it was a life saver. I had a medical emergency my senior year in high school that required me to take a lot of hard medicine and it really threw off the balance that I worked so long to get in my stomach. my acid reflux was so bad I could not eat at all and would throw up instantly if I did. I was put back on nexium to fix it. After about two months of being on nexium my doctor decided to switch me off of it. Nexium is great for quickly fixing a terribly imbalanced stomach but after prolonged use your stomach can actually have too little acid in it. Thats when my doctor decided to put me on Axid. Its a rather old medication for acid reflux but it has virtually no side affects and is working wonders. I personally don't mind taking medicine every day for it. I currently take it twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. I am trying to get down to just once a day. My stomach is just getting back to "normal" (I don't think I'll ever be completely normal) and it has been about two years since my severe flare up. I would say try your best to find your trigger foods and avoid eating too many of then in a couple day time frame. That helps me bunches! best of luck to you!

Thank you.  I think my reflux is rebound from stopping the omeprazole.  I just hope it eases up soon!  I hope your issues resolve and stay that way!

How long have you been off of the medication? I know people that were great within a few months and others take as long as two years.

Oh Lordy!  I hope it doesn't take two years!  I will have to buy stock in Gaviscon or Tums!  I tapered off over a couple of months, but have only been off of it completely for a little over a month.  I originally took it to avoid stomach issues from a daily 500 mg naproxen sodium for arthritis.  I didn't have acid reflux, but have had it every since I stopped the omeprazole.  I'm assuming it is still the rebound effect, but may have my doctor check to make sure nothing else is going on.

I'm thinking omeprazole did actually make

Baking SODA not baking powder......big difference 

Yes!  Which is the same as  bicarbonarte of soda?  And the same as proton pump inhibitors without their side effects.

my friend in Poland had some type of candas, fungus in her body. Do you know how she rid  off that. Amazing. She start with couple drops of hydrogen peroxide in spon of water, everyday, slowly she incresed to one spoon a day. Hydrogen peroxide in body become water and oxygen. Cancer cells and fungus cells grow in body because we had lack of oxygen (I also read boook about somewhare) When we deliver oxygen to our body, cells all foreign cells die naturallu. So many people strugle with candidas. Having some hydrogen peroxide do not do any site effects. What do you think? maybe help reflux, and many other problems.

There are proton pump inhibitors you can get in sachet form where you could keep reducing the dose.  People who try to come off of them all in one go find it hard and keep getting bad stomaches etc, then the doctor tells you that it means you still NEED the medicine and are not well yet.  But I think it is because the stomach has got used to being virtually empty and all of a sudden has to get used to going back to before and has to adjust and this takes time.  If you stay on  proton pump inhibitors long term it can do damage but if you take multi vitamikns and minerals and such you will find that can counter act a lot of them.   Those who are frail and skinny have to think of calcium deficincies and how it can mean fractures long term.

Will be back down drs monday to discuss my medicatio.

Hi just an update, been feeling awful for last couple of weeks severe anxiety and generally unwell. Spoke to doctor today who has given me anti anxiety tablets which I don't want to take. Instead after reading forums have decided to reduce me omeprazole myself to see if that helps my anxiety levels as so many people have suggested. Was currently on 80 mgs a day and reducing myself to 40 mgs for a week then will reduce to 20 till I get to none. Hopefully won't get any bad reflux but have 2 bottles of gaviscon ready. Is this a safe amount of reduction? How soon will the anxiety go?

Hi Sandra. No idea of if the anxiety will go but very likely it will. You should find it goes within a few days of lowering the dose. It would not take long. Usually whether you take this or that dose or none will affect you within 6 hours and definitely be gone or there in 48 hours. With this type of medicine although people are quick to say there are others out there they mostly fall into the pp1 or pp2 group and do the same thing and hve similar effects. If your problem was a short term problem the tablets may have sorted it out and maybe yuo do not need them anymore. Be prepared for the fact that when you stop taking them your stomach might crave them for a while and you might get stomach aches or whatever as a sort of withdrawal symptom while your body adjusts to the acid being there again. IT DOES NOT MEAN you need the tablets, it means your body has to get used to not having them. This takes about 4 days.

Thank you Carmel that is very reassuring was origanally only on 40 and was fine tests have shown that my esopagus does not function fully and I get indegestion symptoms but hopefully can control this with gaviscon alone. Would it just be best to just stop altogether or reduce as I mentioned. Been on high dose for 2 years now

Hi Sanda. Glad to be of help. Only you can decide but if it was me I would reduce it gradually. But I still think you would get those few days where you go through the "withdrawal" as your stmach once again gets used to having acid in it. I went through this about six times so far. It is scary at the time if you do not understand it as you feel that it means you are still "ill" and the tablets did not work and you have to take them forever etc. But this is not the case. Doctors tend to say oh well if your stomach still feels bad you need the tablets. They dont see it either.

Carmel

There is a real good chance that

if 1 PPI doesn't work then another PPI could work. I was a GI Nurse for

20 years I worked in Endoscopy

the drs often switched the PPI's

and the changes worked. U can take

H2 Blockers with the PPI's but take

them at different times. Zantac and Pepcid are H2 blockers. They work

faster with an hour but the relief is temporary u can take H2 blockers 3 to 4 times a day. 60 minutes before

meals and at bedtime. Taking Probiotics is helpful but I would be

careful taking herbs. There is an her. called Senna that is put in some laxatives but it is bad it can turn the lining of your colon dark blue or black

and effect the motility.

I have taken 20mg daily of omeprazole for several years, and just recently tapered off to none.  I am still having rebound reflux, even though it is going on a month of no omepprazole.  Gaviscon and Tums keep it at bay, but I am so ready for my tummy to be normal again.  I only took omeprazole to protect my stomach from damage from a daily 500mg Naproxen Sodium which I took for arthritis pain.  I'm off both medications now, and hope to be back to normal soon!  Just realize that withdrawal may take a long time!